Since I just rated the course earlier this week I didn't do the rating but wanted to provide an update on the conditions. I think rudyclub did a great job summarizing this and my earlier is still val... Continue »

Since I just rated the course earlier this week I didn't do the rating but wanted to provide an update on the conditions. I think rudyclub did a great job summarizing this and my earlier is still valid and a tick better in some regards.

Greens were running much faster and firmer. I think last week I just caught it after a heavy watering. Like Rudy said it was hard to get balls to stop on approaches. Even some simple chips around the greens rolled out more than expected.

I was in a couple bunkers and again like Rudy said they were really nice. Lots of sand and you could really splash the ball out.

Played 11/4/16 8 am
Fairway's mostly green and fairly lush. I was pleasantly surprised. They played pretty good. Ball sat up nicely, but were still pretty firm underneath.
Greens were firm. Tough to... Continue »

Played 11/4/16 8 am
Fairway's mostly green and fairly lush. I was pleasantly surprised. They played pretty good. Ball sat up nicely, but were still pretty firm underneath.
Greens were firm. Tough to get balls to stop. Saw a few take big bounces. Ran true at medium to medium fast.
Only in one bunker and it was in great shape with what looks like newly replaced sand.
Over all the I felt the course was in very good condition.

Played here a couple of times over the last few days. Sunday I went off in the morning about 7:45and finished in just under 4 hours. It could have been a tad faster but the group ahead was a hole be... Continue »

Played here a couple of times over the last few days. Sunday I went off in the morning about 7:45and finished in just under 4 hours. It could have been a tad faster but the group ahead was a hole behind still not bad for a weekend. Also decided to come yesterday afternoon and the place was dead. Played in 3 1/2 hours and that includes sitting on the bench on 2 for about 10 minutes and eating lunch.

Greens are just ok. Quite a few ball marks which caused some putts to go online a bit. A couple of greens had some bare spots but I generally noticed these on the front portion of the green and not where I would expect a pin placement to be.

Fairways are decent, maybe a tad long but still very nice to play from. Course on Sunday was wet and didn't roll as much as I expected. Green out there which is better than I was expecting because I've seen this place pretty brown so that was nice.

Rough is a mixed bag. It can be dormant and other spots can be quite thick. There were a couple of times I actually walked by my ball because I didn't see it.

Only in one trap and that was the fairway one on 13 and I guess it was flooded because they had 2 pumps pumping out water. So that bunker was very wet. Others looked ok but looked a little damp.

The price is always attractive here and the customer service has always been great.

Reluctantly decided to come out of hibernation and play for the first time in four months on Wednesday, 9/21, and found the golf course to be in very good condition from start to finish. The rain that... Continue »

Reluctantly decided to come out of hibernation and play for the first time in four months on Wednesday, 9/21, and found the golf course to be in very good condition from start to finish. The rain that fell Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning was definitely beneficial but it appeared to me conditions were quite good prior to the storm that made its' way through San Diego at the beginning of the week. I'll point to Weber2323's review from 9/10 as evidence of that fact. The golf course was basically wall-to-wall green carpet, which isn't something I'm accustomed to seeing at AB-North this time of year. There may have been some isolated patches that were the exception but I don't recall taking note of it. As a result, fairway lies were great from tee-to-green on practically every hole. However, because of the recent rainfall, fairways were soft and, in some cases, a bit soggy, particularly the landing zone on #12. One thing I have noticed when playing here is that the maintenance staff is very proactive when it comes to protecting certain areas of the course and there were plenty of signs posted to divert cart traffic away from that portion of the fairway. Nice to see them make the effort to protect an area that was extensively resodded just a year ago. As expected, the greens held extremely well yet the speed wasn't as sluggish as I anticipated. Granted, they weren't as quick as I've experienced...or would prefer...but I didn't find myself having to slam the ball on every green because of the rain, which is testament to how well the putting surfaces drain. And I didn't notice any footprints or other irregularities that affected the roll of the ball either, except for an unrepaired ball mark on #13 that kicked my 40-footer off line at the last second, costing me a birdie! The fringe areas around the greens were flawless and in the best shape possible...and that goes for the rough as well. Definitely longer and thicker than usual, venturing off the fairway was not a good idea. In most cases, I found my ball sitting up, which resulted in some strikes high on the club face. Conversely, if the ball burrowed, advancing the ball an appreciable distance was almost impossible. Only hit one bunker and the sand was surprisingly fluffy...even to a good depth...and very playable. Looked at a few other traps as I passed by them during the round and their appearance seemed to parallel what I experienced on #7. Saw the beverage cart and marshal on only one occasion but it wasn't very crowded at all. We played as a foursome...teeing off at 2:00...and finished a leisurely-paced round in about 4 hours and 15 minutes. Despite the high humidity, it was a perfect day to play and the constant breeze...which seems to be a given here...kept us comfortable. Not much to add except that the course is in excellent condition at the present moment and should remain so until aerification of the greens commences on October 3rd.

Teed off at 7 this morning and finished in 4 hours 20 minutes. There was some waiting early but then the group ahead of us was about half a shot ahead of us. There was a 2some behind us for a while ... Continue »

Teed off at 7 this morning and finished in 4 hours 20 minutes. There was some waiting early but then the group ahead of us was about half a shot ahead of us. There was a 2some behind us for a while until another 2some caught up with them somewhere on the back 9.

I was expecting drier conditions but was surprised how green the overall course seemed to be. Fairways did have some dry spots and I was expecting a lot more bare spots but there were good spots to hit from in the fairways.

Rough is spotty with some dry areas which were fine to get a club on the ball and some areas were pretty tough to hit from. For example I was in the left rough on 6 and the ball wasn't buried but settled down enough that I could only advance a 2 hybrid about 160 yds. That rough can really grab a club.

Greens are not overly fast. I thought I hit some hard putts and still came up short a few times. As the round progressed I think they did get faster but not too much. There always seems to be unrepaired ball marks here. Because of the price I think the course gets its fair share of golfers with no regard for maintaining the course.

Was not in the sand but the sand actually looked really good.

I usually don't eat at the course after a round but I was pretty hungry and tired after the round so I ate in the restaurant afterwards and got a burger and it was really good too.

The course fits this price point. considering some other courses that are struggling to keep the course in decent condition this course exceeded my expectation. In that regard I thought this was a bargain but let's remember this is no pebble beach.

Played here after work the other day and we were the last few time before twilight. Glad we went out when we did. The starter said there were stacked but the group behind us was slow. We finished 3... Continue »

Played here after work the other day and we were the last few time before twilight. Glad we went out when we did. The starter said there were stacked but the group behind us was slow. We finished 3 holes ahead of them and a little less than 4 hours.

Overall the course has deteriorated since my last visit. Greens were not in very good shape. Bumpy and slow. The amount of play this place gets I'm hoping that they can devote some attention here soon.

Fairways and rough were in their typical shape. Generally decent but several bare spots out there. I didn't notice a significant change for the better or worse here.

Sand traps were probably the worst I have played. I was in 3 and all had a light dusting of sand on top of clay (all greenside bunkers). On the par 5 6th I was in on and I hit a rock that was embedded in this hard stuff. The rock was the size of a softball. Luckily I didn't break my wrist but it damaged my club.

Staff was great, we saw the marshal a few times which we were able to get water from. I'm going to be staying away for a bit.

Teed it up here a couple of times over the past couple of week some as a dawn patrol and just as recently as last Saturday with Nick. Nick did a great job of describing the conditions.

Pace vari... Continue »

Teed it up here a couple of times over the past couple of week some as a dawn patrol and just as recently as last Saturday with Nick. Nick did a great job of describing the conditions.

Pace varied anywhere from under 3 hours as an early bird to right at 4 1/2 hours these past couple of weekends with mid morning tee times. I always see a marshal out there a few times around making sure everyone is keeping pace.

The greens always seem to have a few too many ball marks. I usually fix mine and a couple others if I see them. I was also surprised that being the first off one time that there were marks already on the green so I guess the twilighters decided not to fix any from the day before. Greens roll at a decent speed. I think you can be aggressive on your putts as they probably will not roll too far by.

Fairways are pretty good. I played after a rain once and some fairways drain better than others and there were still some damp spots this past weekend. There are some areas that are marked GUR and after playing here for a while just always seem to be problem areas for the course to get grass to grow. But there always seems to be grass on the fairways just some patches in certain spots.

Rough is generally playable but there are a few areas that are thicker, left side of #6 and #8 off the top of my head. There are also some bare spots out there too so its a mixed bag.

Sand is heavy and I think the rain has something to do with this. I don't know if the water fully drained but it always seems to play as a heavier sand anyways.

Played the Blues (6780/72.6/128) with Weber2323 and 2 nice locals in around 4.5 hours midday. $42 to walk for non military was a little steep, but probably in the ballpark for the San Diego area on th... Continue »

Played the Blues (6780/72.6/128) with Weber2323 and 2 nice locals in around 4.5 hours midday. $42 to walk for non military was a little steep, but probably in the ballpark for the San Diego area on the weekend. Completely overcast, calm to a little breezy and a little muggy with temps around 70. Before we get into the course review, huge shout out to Mike Webb for his performance today. Mike accomplished something I suspect few GKers ever have... he got it to -5 after 10 holes. Even with a few hiccups down the stretch, he still ended up on the low side of par. Excellent round Mike! Overall, the course was in good condition, very playable. The tees were very nice, mostly lush with few unfixed divots. Most of the fairways were lush and in the 7/10 range. However, 3-4 fairways had significant amounts of hard pan and were more in the 4/10 range. The rough was not overly long and had good coverage. I usually was able to advance at least a middle iron a decent distance. The sand looked better than it played. Well maintained. However, the 2 traps I was in both could have used more sand. The Poa Annua greens were the hi-light of the course. Firm, medium to medium fast speed and held approach shots well. Only a few had tiers, but there were few straight putts on any of the pin positions today. The customer service from the pro shop to the ever present drink cart was very good. Player Assistant making the rounds offering water and monitoring POP. Even though it was a 4 1/2 hour round, we moved at a decent pace and were rarely held up. My 1st time playing here, I enjoyed the course. Parkland style layout with mostly generous fairway widths. Nice collection of par 3's, liked the variety of par 4/5 holes. Many fairly straight holes with a few doglegs. No holes that jumped out as great golf holes, but no bad holes either. Nice course to walk, fairly flat with most tees close to the last green. Good course for players of all skill levels, not many forced carries but enough length from the tips to keep you honest. Recommended=yes.

Played AB-North on Wednesday, 4/20, and noticed a slight improvement in overall conditions compared to what I reported a few weeks back. Fairways are beginning to fill in with better coverage and mor... Continue »

Played AB-North on Wednesday, 4/20, and noticed a slight improvement in overall conditions compared to what I reported a few weeks back. Fairways are beginning to fill in with better coverage and more consistent lies than what's been prevalent through the winter months; tee boxes generally in decent shape as well. Putting surfaces have definitely benefited from the recent top dressing process although they are still rolling in the medium speed category, with a few uphill putts requiring a little more "oomph" to get the ball to the hole. Did not see an abundance of unattended ball marks that needed attention but I did find myself fixing an additional three or four pitch marks per hole in addition to my own. Greens held very well, to the point where I was able to spin a couple of wedges back a foot or two; haven't seen that here in a while. Putts rolled fairly smooth but I wasn't able to get anything of note to fall. Hit a number of putts, particularly from the 15'-20' range, where I thought the ball was going to find the bottom of the cup but that just wasn't the case. Typical of this course, however, as many putts have a tendency to take the break then straighten out at the last second or do something totally unexpected. There's a very fine line that separates a good putting round from a great one here; except for a couple of misreads, I was very pleased with my stroke and was never close to 3-putting, despite taking 31 putts for the round. Only found the rough on two occasions and it was playable, although it took some effort to get the club on the ball. Fringe areas around the greens are also improving but there are still many spots where clumpy, uneven lies are prevalent, which made it difficult to keep shots from off the green, whether hit with a hybrid or putter, on line. Bunkers are in need of some maintenance as the upper layer of sand appears to have thinned out considerably in recent weeks. Once one of the best features of the course, I've found recent forays into the sand has now become a guessing game; very hard-packed surface just below the ball that forces you to guard against blading the shot, thus making it very difficult to hit a high quality bunker shot. Nowhere near the Desert Willow disaster...thankfully...but still something worth noting. As always, customer service level was fantastic...from check-in to dinner after the round...with on-course beverage cart and water service available on multiple occasions. Pace-of-play was excellent: teed off as a twosome at 1:19...following a group of three elderly gentlemen who were walking...and finished at about four hours and fifteen minutes. The wind, which always seems to be omnipresent in the afternoon, was in full force for the duration of the round and probably the strongest I've encountered at AB-North. Knowing it has a tendency to swirl and change direction at a moment's notice, we were still amazed at how quickly conditions varied just from the tee shot to the approach on some holes. It really added to the challenge and fun factor and had us on our toes when it came to club selection but this is another reason why I enjoy playing here; the golf course always seems to play different from week to week to a certain degree. Not sure if the rain that's projected to arrive next week will materialize but I believe it would be very beneficial given this recent spell of warmer than usual temperatures we've experienced. With summer fast approaching and winter now fading in the rear view mirror, I would expect conditions to continue to get better moving forward.